Reprise
by savinglives44
Summary: AU, Rumbelle. Regina didn't cast the curse and Rumplestiltskin is on his way to avenge Belle's death when his whole world is turned upside down. Again. He finds Belle trapped in Regina's castle and must bring her back home. Belle and Rumple try to figure out their feelings for each other with complications including a smitten knight and a vengeful queen.
1. No Dream to Pursue

**Reprise**_  
_

_No dream to pursue, so_  
_I looked to myself, despise all the things I see_

_-"If I Can't Love Her (Reprise)_

Rumplestiltskin stared longingly at that chipped cup, the one that would only remind him of Belle. It'd been two weeks since Regina dropped by and told him of her death. He couldn't believe it, couldn't sleep at all. Visions of Belle being tortured- her screams, coils cracking across her pale skin, the pain she must have went through to choose her own death. He couldn't bear it.

And he knew it was all his fault.

Since then, no deals were made. He didn't deserve the pride and glory he got from them. Belle was right- not even his power was worth this despair.

So when he received a letter from Regina, requesting him to attend to her at her castle, he initially crumpled it into a ball and threw it in a corner. He sighed, pushing his spinning wheel ever so slowly.

He thought about what Regina had said...scourges and flaying. Beads tearing into her flesh. He closed his eyes. He was not the only one to blame. The men who had inflicted such torment on her...had they even heard or listened to her? If they'd taken the chance to know her, they would have seen how pure and kind she was. Rumplestiltskin knew they'd find her strange- she claimed she had the capability to love a beast. But she was far from possessed or evil. She wasn't tainted from knowing him, in fact, he'd come to know more light and love from her.

Just thinking of it, he growled. He would tear their limbs off. The bloodthirsty, power-hungry fiends...justice would be served in their crimes, Rumple swore to himself. Regina must have more information on them. Once he avenged Belle's death, he would not be in despair anymore. He beckoned Regina's note from the floor and it unraveled and laid flat in his hand. He folded it neatly, tucked it in his pocket, and sauntered out of his castle.

* * *

"What note?!" Regina barked at Rumplestiltskin. "Are you mad? I sent you no letter."

"Really?" It was out of character for Regina to not want something from him. He retrieved the letter from his pocket and gave it to her.

"This is NOT in my hand!" She flung the note out into the court that was observing her. "WHO sent this?!"

No one stepped forward.

"Excuse me, madame..." he sneered, "are you telling me that I came ALL this way-"

"Save it, Rumple. We all know you used your magic to get here." Regina's eyes suspiciously scanned the crowd and then landed on Rumple. "What I don't know is why you _forged_ this note to come to my castle."

"Obviously, I can't get enough of you, Rrrregina," He excessively rolled his 'R' when he said her name.

"That's 'Your Highness' to you, worm. I am your queen." She held her nose high and regally. "Why are you really here, Rumple?"

"I've already told you, I received that note. I assumed it was about the deal you approached me with a few weeks ago. Am I wrong?"

"What deal? Oh!" Regina stuttered and Rumple knew she was hiding something. "Never mind that. It all worked out."

"Did it?" He brushed it off. He didn't care about her interests and they were wasting time that he could be terrorizing Belle's killers. "Well, in that case, I have a deal for you."

"Yes?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Any favor you want...in exchange for the names of the clerics that tortured Belle."

Regina laughed, "You're still stuck on that maid?!" She waved her hand, "I have no information on that. Talk to the villagers." She began to dismiss him, but then her eyes widened, "Actually, why don't you let me do that? I'm sure you are a very busy man."

"No thanks," he turned away, "Your people would never tell you the truth."

"Rumple, I insist." She stomped her foot down on the royal tile. "They will see through to your intentions and lie to protect their friends. Let me do it. I'll send it spies."

"Fine!" Rumple continued down his path.

"And Rumple!" Regina shouted after him, "I will be calling in that favor soon!"

* * *

Before he could exit Regina's castle, Rumplestiltskin was pulled away. Something dark and heavy was placed over his head and he heard, "Take him to the dungeon!"

He relaxed. Really, they should know better. He threw off his attacker with a flick of his wrist and took off the bag on his head. There were two men lying on the ground in front of him. "What were you thinking?" He laughed and shook his head. "Now I'll have to kill you."

Someone came from behind him, wrapped an arm around his waist and whispered, "Play along, I have information on Belle's murderers."

"I'm not going to fall for that one." Even as he said it, Rumple didn't move. The temptation that this person could have helpful information was too much.

"Trust me. You can break out of any of our prisons if I'm lying to you."

Rumple nodded. That was true. The other assailants were rising to their feet. They grabbed him and they made their way down to the dungeon.

The person behind him, Rumple still didn't know his name and he couldn't see his face, shook off the other two guards, saying, "I've got it from here."

"You can't handle the Dark One by yourself," One of them said gruffly.

"I can. Regina's orders. I've got a cuff on that disables his powers." The guard behind Rumple held up his forearm with a broad cuff over his wrist. "He's going to the deepest of the prisons and Regina doesn't want to take any chances with more than one person being trapped in there with him."

Rumplestiltskin deduced that the other guards weren't very bright men because they simply shrugged at this explanation, heading in the opposite direction.

When they were out of eyesight, Rumple once again used his powers to throw off the man.

"Hey! Ow! What'd you do that for?" The man rubbed his head where it had hit the stone wall. "I'm just trying to help you."

"Just making sure that cuff didn't work." Rumple brushed off his pants and stretched his arms where he had been handled too roughly. "What information do you have for me?

The man stood up. "My name's Gregory." He held out his hand.

Rumple didn't take it. "I don't have time for this. Tell me what you know or I'll cut off your tongue!"

"Wow. She said you'd be a little harsh..."

"Who said that?!"

Gregory brushed past him. "Come with me."

Rumple's heart raced in anticipation as he was led to the deepest part of the dungeon. After a while, he heard a very quiet sound, like the rocks were moving together. He had the urge to stop Gregory before it got any worse. He had a sinking feeling that he was being lead into a trap. "God help your whole family if-" Rumple started.

"You can take it from here." Gregory stopped at the entrance of a pitch black cave. "She said you would come for her, but I didn't believe it. I guess she was right," he shrugged and turned away. "Watch out for the snakes."

Rumple noticed that the noise had gotten louder and now sounded like hissing. He looked to his feet and a snakes winded around the prison bars and cowered in dark corners. "Wonderful," he said sarcastically.

Rumple produced a flame from his fingertips so he could see. He stepped over the snakes into the cave.

"Rumple?" He heard her voice from the back of the prison. She stepped forward into the light. Her hair was matted and there was dirt all over her dress and hands. She looked frail and her eyes were red. He saw wounds on her arms that looked like snake bites, but no mistake- it was her.

It was his Belle, alive

* * *

**A/N: So sorry that this is just a set-up chapter! **

**More excitement to come! I've got lots of interesting things in store for them. :) Also I love different, creative titles, so I've called this "Reprise." It's not super creative, haha because a reprise is just something that is similar to but different than what it is based off of. And hopefully the chapters will feature lyrics from the reprises from the musical. **


	2. Trust

**Reprise**

_Trust in me,  
for you know I won't run away  
-"Home" (Reprise)_

* * *

_Rumple produced a flame from his fingertips so he could see. He stepped over the snakes into the cave._

_"Rumple?" He heard her voice from the back of the prison. She stepped forward into the light. Her hair was matted and there was dirt all over her dress and hands. She looked frail and her eyes were red. He saw wounds on her arms that looked like snake bites, but no mistake- it was her._

_It was his Belle, alive._

"Belle." Rumplestiltskin dismissed the snakes at his feet and reached through the prison bars that held her. "Is that really you?"

She laced her fingers through his. Her skin was so pale that it seemed transparent. "Yes," she said, weakly. "Rumple, please get me out of here."

His thumb stroked over her hand. "I thought you died."

"No," she shook her head, confused. "Regina- her men- they were waiting for me outside your castle. She knew you'd send me away."

Anger burned through his veins at the thought of Regina scheming this plan. She'd seemed so coy on the day she visited him to tell him of Belle's faith. And all the time she'd been lying. He should have expected it. And Belle had to suffer because he'd been blinded by pride. He didn't know how to vocalize his grief, his regret. He didn't have any excuses. He could only apologize. "I'm...sorry." The words hadn't left his mouth in centuries so they felt foreign. He was still getting used to the reality where she was still alive.

"It's okay. I knew you'd come back for me." She gave him a small smile.

Even with circles under her eyes and holes in her skin, she was far more beautiful that he'd ever deserve. He held onto her with one hand and tried to break through the cage with magic in his other hand. "Regina's protected it," he observed.

"Gregory should have given you a key."

"He did no such thing," Rumple panicked.

"Check your pockets," Belle suggested.

Rumple rifled through his vest and found an old rusted key. He turned it in his hands and then saw that the snakes were climbing up the bars of the cage. They curled around his legs as well, snapping at the key. He vaporized them with magic, shaking off the ashes. "Where's the keyhole?"

"There's not one. Hurry, give me your hand."

Rumple held out his hand with the key and she pressed the key into his palm and then his palm into the metal bar, her hand on top of his.

Her prison disappeared instantly and she fell into his arms, embracing him. "Rumple! Thank you. I didn't know if that would work." She stepped away to look at him.

He was confused by what she said, but beyond relieved to have her out of captivity. Belle closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder and Rumple used magic to transport them back to the Dark castle.

* * *

When Belle opened her eyes again, she felt back at home. "I never thought I'd miss these drapes! And your wheel!" She broke out of Rumple's grasp to explore the beloved items, and her legs gave out and she hit the floor. "Oof."

"Belle!" Rumplestiltskin exclaimed. He rushed over to her and lifted her to her feet.

"Sorry," she brushed her hair out of her face. "I'm a little weaker than I thought."

Rumple said nothing to that and deposited her in the chair that he usually sat in. He stood over her, as if he was about to say something, then frowned. He made a stool appear beside the chair and he sat on it. He lightly touched her hand with his fingertips. "I would like to take care of you, if you'll allow me. It's much too dangerous for you to leave the grounds at this point."

"Oh," Her hand sought his with assurance. "I don't want to leave."

"Good." He stood up abruptly. "The snake bites need the most urgent care. Do you know if any of the snakes were poisonous?"

"I'm not sure," Belle frowned, "I don't think I'd be alive if they were."

"I have a very potent healing potion that will close up these wounds no matter what." Rumple nodded and summoned the potion with his hand. He went to work, wetting a piece of cotton with the cloudy potion and dabbing it on a puncture at her forearm. The redness surrounding the area disappeared until only two pink dots were left. "You will have scars, I'm afraid," he told her. "Scars are too useful for this magic to rid the body of them."

Belle understood, knowing that scars reminded her of the mistakes she's made and the suffering she made it through. Rumple worked quickly through the few wounds on her arms and moved to the many wounds on her swollen feet.

"You're lucky that your feet didn't fall off because of an infection," Rumple commented.

"The snakes really weren't that bad," Belle said as she drifted back to imagining her prison. "My feet are the worse because I tried to kick them for the first few days. By last night, I was sleeping next to them."

"How brave," Rumple smiled at her and she thought it might be genuine. He made it up to her knees, and then asked, "Are there any other bites that need to be healed?"

"Just one on my thigh." She blushed. "I don't mind you..."

Rumple cleared his throat. "May I change you into bedclothes?"

"That would be wonderful," Belle sighed as magic swirled around her and she was enveloped in the softest silk nightshirt and knickers. All the dirt and grime had been scrubbed off of her and it felt incredible. Her shorts were loose enough for her to slide them up and expose where she needed him to heal her.

He did so, quickly and tenderly, and she was nearly asleep from the comfort. "Any other hurts or aches that I can take care of?" He bent down close to her, brushing her hair.

"Yes." She stared at him, wondering if she was brave enough to do what she wanted. She tilted her head up and pressed her lips gently to his. She was flooded with warmth and peace and then pulled back quickly, not wanting him to react in the way he did after their first kiss. "That should take care of it," she declared with a smile.

"Hmm." He stood up and stepped back, puzzled. Then he shook off the shock. "I'm serious, Belle. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

She scooted to the edge of the chair. "I am quite hungry."

He smirked, "I might be able to whip up something quickly."

* * *

In a few minutes, they were seated at the dining table with an incredible spread that Rumple had conjured up. His eyes widened as he watched her eat- she devoured the mashed potatoes and turkey voraciously. He'd never seen her eat so...impolitely.

He stood up from his chair and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. He laughed as she nearly swallowed a piece of chocolate cake whole. "Slow down, dear."

"This is delectable," she moaned between bites. "Gregory brought me in old potatoes once in a while. But I'm starving."

He removed his hand from her. "Yes, Gregory was very helpful. How do you know him?"

"He was assigned to watch over me and make sure that I will still in my cage...make sure you didn't get to me. We talked and he wanted to help me." After three more rolls and a couple servings of pudding, she started to slow down considerably. "He won't tell Regina that I'm gone for a few days."

"I'm not worried about Regina."

"Gregory wrote the note to you. I'm so glad you responded."

"Yes, you were lucky." He wasn't sure if he could ask her what he wanted to know. He wasn't sure if it was his place to wonder...

She read his mind. "Gregory and I were simply friends. Only you could save me, Rumple. And not because of your power."

"Why, then?" He asked, curious.

She frowned and paused. Then she shook her head. "I don't feel so well."

He would have thought that she was trying to change the subject, but her cheeks lost their color. "You ate too quickly. And you need to sleep." His hand went to stroke her hair again.

"Yes." Her head fell forward as she was remembered how exhausted she was. "Back to the dungeon?"

He stared at her, horrified. He realized that she had a small half-smile on her face and he relaxed a little. "Belle, stand up." She was still a little shaky so he held her in front of him, his fingers clasping over her shoulders. "I will never imprison you again."

She nodded and he let go, offering his arm. She leaned heavily on him as they began to walk through the castle. "What changed?"

He placed his hand over hers on his arm. "Regina told me that you'd died after an extreme amount of torture." They stopped at the entrance of her new bedroom. "And I regretted letting you go, even if I did keep my power."

"Do you still feel that way?"

He paused, unsure of what to say. "You're not dead anymore, dearie."

Belle leaned forward and kissed him chastely again. "What about now?"

Again, it took him a minute to process that she had kissed him, voluntarily. He tried to hide his shock this time and brush it off. "My favor is leaning your way. Now, to bed."

She moved slowly to the bed and looked back when she realized he was standing in the doorway. "Will you sit with me until I fall asleep?"

"I'm not sure if it's proper..." He tried to remember the standards of the time, if it would be disrespectful to join her in her room.

"Rumple," She rolled her eyes at him, and then asked him earnestly, "I need you, please." She slid into the bed and he tiptoed carefully into the room, as if someone might see them and accuse him of defiling her. That brought another horrid thought to mind. "Belle? The guards in the castle...they didn't bother you, did they?"

She yawned. "They weren't very nice the first two days, but after that, I was old news. Only Gregory was allowed to see me, mostly."

"Ahh." Her description was more vague than he'd like, but he let it go.

She scooted over in the bed. "Sit here." She patted the bed next to her.

The idea of sitting in bed with her was appalling. He, a beast, the Dark One in bed with the fairest, pure-hearted beauty- it was outrageous. "Belle, I can't allow-"

"Rumple." She gave him the same look as before.

He sighed and sat on the bed, making sure that they weren't touching. She didn't push him. "You're the only person in the world who can control me without my dagger," Rumple noticed.

Belle was already asleep.

* * *

**A/N: It'll take Belle and Rumple a while to figure out how they feel. It'll be a fun and beautiful process. :) He's still attached to his power and she's not quite sure if she loves him either. With Regina and Gregory, they've got a lot of problems coming their way.**

**Regina will be Enchanted Forest Regina in this fic which means no Henry so she hasn't had a chance to turn her heart around. She will not be nice. Unless I throw a little something in with Robin Hood because I love those two. Obviously mostly Rumbelle though!  
**

**I'd much prefer to write Mr. Gold over Rumple. I just feel like I know the character better that way. Oh well, he's still quite fun.**


	3. Make the Most

**Reprise**

* * *

_If anyone can make the most of living here_  
_ Then, Belle, it's you_  
_ And who knows?_  
_ You may find_  
_ Home here, too!_

_-Home (Reprise)_

Belle woke up in the afternoon the next day. She felt like she'd slept for days and struggled to push herself off of the bed to sit up. Light streamed in from the doorway and a dark figure stepped in front of it. "Belle?"

She squinted, "Morning." She placed a hand to her head. Surely she looked awful after sleeping for so long.

"Good afternoon would be more appropriate," Rumplestiltskin giggled and approached the bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"My head is killing me." She tried to massage the pain out, but failed.

"I can take care of that," He sat on the bed with her and pushed her hands away from her head. He pressed his thumbs to her forehead and his index fingers to her temples.

She closed her eyes at the pressure and felt the pain melting away. The relief warmed her. She opened her eyes and smiled at him lovingly. "Thank you, Rumple. That was wonderful." She wanted to kiss him, but knew it bothered him. She scooted forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in an embrace. She felt his arms close around her waist and his face press slightly into her shoulder.

He drew back. "Hungry again, dear?"

"Yes. I'd like to change and wash up first though."

"Of course."

He left her to be and she took a short bath. She found that he'd added quite a few dresses to her wardrobe. She chose a simple one in pale green and tied a bow in her hair with the same color. She headed quickly to the dining hall, finding that her hunger was greater than she'd thought. Rumple had prepared a hot bowl of oatmeal for her. She sat down and began to eat it, relishing the food in her belly. Rumple appeared after a few minutes. "There you are!" she exclaimed.

"Here I am." He presented himself and bowed. "Did you want privacy during your meal?"

"No," she answered. "Join me, please."

He sat in the chair next to her and watched her eat.

"What did you work on while I was sleeping?" Belle blew on her spoon with the hot porridge to cool it off.

"I'm working on some magic to better protect the castle, and for Regina, when the time comes."

"What do you mean, for Regina?" Belle asked nervously.

Rumple spoke nonchalantly, "Oh, I'm going to kill her."

"I should have known." Belle stirred her oatmeal a little more as she thought. "I know she's done some horrible things, but I think Regina could be a good person if someone showed her love and grace. I would hate for you to kill her if she had the potential to be good."

"What are you talking about? Good is good. Evil is evil. There's no switching sides." He looked down at the table. "She held you captive in a prison. She will die."

"She's lonely, Rumple," Belle pleaded, "and vengeful. And she's looking to power to fill the hole in her heart. You must understand that."

"I understand quite intimately," Rumples fingers drummed on the oak table, "but only one of us can have the power to fill our heart. And it will be mine."

"There are other things that can fill you heart if you just let them." Belle let her spoon drop into her bowl, as she was suddenly not hungry anymore. "I'm going for a walk around the castle. Don't follow me." She snatched up her bowl to clean it.

Rumple watched her walk out of the room.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin spun quietly for most of the afternoon. The wheel moved quickly and his fingers danced over the gold thread. He was anxious about what he'd said to Belle. It worried him that she was around the castle by herself. He tried to trust that new protection spell would keep Regina and anyone else away from her. But if she stepped off the property, she wasn't enchanted by him anymore and anyone could hurt her or take her.

After a couple of hours, Belle strode into the foyer where he spun. She stopped when she saw him and stared, then turned away, out of the room.

That worried Rumple very much. He imagined he'd have to conjure up a thousand roses and even more books to be in her good graces again. He let the gold thread press tightly into his fingers as anxiety bubbled in him.

She reappeared, carrying a small stool with her, just taller than the one he was sitting on. She placed it inches away from his and sat down.

"What are you doing?" He asked, surprised, the tone of his voice a little more biting than he'd meant it to be.

"I wanted to sit next to you," she explained, resting her hands in her lap.

"Aren't you mad at me?"

"No," she smoothed her dress down. "I went for a walk and now I feel better. I think I was just a little grumpy because I'd just woken up. I'm sorry."

He had absolutely not expected her to apologize. "That's- that's quite all right," he stuttered.

"I would prefer if you didn't kill Regina, but it is your choice if you'd like to attempt such a thing," she said quietly.

He didn't want to let her down, now that she was being nice. "I will have to think about it." He gave the wheel another spin. "Maybe I will give her a warning." He paused, "But if she tried to kidnap you again, I will cut her head off!"

Belle laughed. Somehow, she always found him funny. "I guess I could concede to that."

They were silent for a period of time. He spun and she watched him. Finally, he asked her, "Don't you have something to do?"

"Oh, would you like me to clean?" She stood up. "I wasn't sure of how our arrangement stood now-"

"No, that won't be necessary. We can talk about that after things have settled down a bit." He hadn't meant to suggest that she wait on him again. He didn't know what their relationship was, but she certainly wasn't a prisoner or servant anymore. He needed more time to think about if he wanted her to stay and in what capacity. "Don't you have a book to read or something?"

"I guess I could go get one." She walked slowly out of the room, talking to herself, "I really did miss that story..."

It was his turn to chuckle to himself. Her fascination with books amused him. He'd never seen a girl like her. She returned with a book that he'd known her to read multiple times in the course of staying with him. Again, she sat down on the stool next to him.

He was so confused as to why she was sitting there. "Isn't the couch more comfortable, Belle?"

She didn't break her concentration from the book. "I want to be close to you."

He sighed. His hand moved the wheel and he thought it was ridiculous for them both to be sitting on the tiny stools. He stood and gave her his hand to help her up as well.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"I'm tired of spinning. We'll sit on the couch." He led her there and sat down first.

She sat down right next to him even though there was plenty of room to give him some space. She leaned and rested her head on his shoulder.

It seemed as if she wanted him to put his arm around her. He couldn't believe it though. He didn't understand why someone would want to be closer to them than they had to, and he feared that he was misreading her signals. He kept his hands on his knees.

He expected her to start reading, but she didn't. She just traced the cover of the book with her finger dreamily.

Her head was feeling heavy and warm against his arm, and he could feel other parts of her body pressing into him. He needed to distract himself or he'd lose control. "What do you think we can expect from Regina when she finds out that you are missing?"

He thanked the heavens when Belle moved to talk to him and she wasn't pressing up against him anymore. "Well, she was very smug when she captured me, so she'll be angry that her plan was thwarted." She shrugged, "I guess that's pretty standard for Regina though." They both laughed. "I know she'll do whatever it takes to get her way. I imagine her next move will be to convince the townspeople that I've done something to deserve being killed. It depends on how badly she wants me dead."

Rumple frowned. Regina knew how he felt about Belle now and she'd do anything to destroy him. He didn't want Belle to have to spend her life running from Regina, and for the first time ever, he wondered if Regina would consider a truce of some sort. If not, she'd have to leave the Enchanted Forest. "It's not about you being in the dead. It's about you being away from me."

"Why would she want that?"

"I'm not sure yet." Rumple studied her face, her eyes, and said, "You bring light into my life and she wants me to stay in my misery. But it's the darkness in my life that gives me the most power."

"What if it's not and she knows it?" Belle pressed a hand excitedly to his thigh. "What if light makes you stronger?"

"Then someone made a mistake calling me the Dark One," he snapped.

She brought her hand back and crossed her arms. "If you only believed in yourself...if you only knew the good that you could do..."

"I am not good! Stop trying to make me something that your pretty little head made up!" He saw her face crumple and regretted what his temper made him do.

She stood up off of the couch and went to look in the window. He heard her sniffle and knew she was crying. He took a deep breath, walked over to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Belle, I'm sorry."

She turned her face towards him and he saw that tears were indeed streaming down her face. He lamented making her cry and wiped the tears away. "I want to go home," she said.

He desperately wanted to let her go, knowing she'd be better off away from him emotionally, but he couldn't let her out of his sight for fear of what Regina would do. "I know. It's my fault that you were ever brought into this." He took his hand off of her and looked away, "You're in danger because you're important to me. After Regina is defeated, I promise you are free to do whatever you wish to do."

She shook her head. "I don't want to leave. This is my home now, I forget." She smiled. "I know we can resolve things with Regina. You just have to make a deal with her."

They moved back to the couch, now sitting more comfortably with each other. They sat close, facing each other. Rumple let one hand cup her hip, the other rested in his lap. Belle let her fingers play with the fabric of his shirt on his wrist. "What sort of deal did you have in mind?" He asked, intrigued.

"That's your expertise." She let a finger drop on his forehead. "Be creative."

Rumple worked out the possibility of making a deal. He tried to think of what Regina would want even more than power over him.

"You've got some time. Regina won't come looking for me here. At least, not at first. She will probably check my father's house first, then Gregory's."

"Gregory," Rumple growled his name.

"Without him, I wouldn't be here," Belle reminded him.

"Why would Regina look there?"

"The cage I was in, it could only be opened by the person I love the most. And she doesn't think I could love you." Her eyes watched him carefully, awaiting a reaction.

"You were banking your salvation on your love for me?"

"It was either you or Papa. I had decent odds," she smirked.

He didn't know whether to scowl or smile so he settled somewhere in between. "Stupid girl," he muttered.

"I just told you that I love you. You could be a little nicer."

He wrestled with himself. Belle, loving him, just seemed impossible. It must have been an illusion. She must be out of her mind. She had nothing to gain from being with him. She could take his money, but as a woman who fed on books, she didn't have much need for wealth. He couldn't offer her humor or beauty. Nothing but a thirst for power that turned his soul black. And yet, it seemed as if she loved him. He gazed at her. She'd blushed at first but now she was staring at him confidently. She was beautiful.

He decided to give kindness a go. "You look very lovely today."

"Thank you."

He felt her lean in and knew she wanted a kiss.

He wanted to be prepared this time. "Are you going to kiss me again?"

She looked down, then up at him. "Only if you want me to."

A loud knock came at the door that took their attention away from each other.

"Regina, already?" Belle gasped.

Rumple stood, calm and prepared for whatever Regina had for him. "Belle, go hide in another room." He noticed she was shaking. "Don't worry." He looked at her and knew if this went badly, he didn't want to regret anything. He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her hard.

Something began to happen in him. He looked down at his hands and they turned from grey to flesh-colored, and then back again. "Damn it." He didn't have time to think about it now.

Another knock came at the door and he sent Belle away. He readied himself and allowed the doors to swing open.

Gregory marched in.

"Oh, it's only you." Rumple let out a breath of relief and shut the doors behind Gregory. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to collect Belle."

* * *

**A/N: Starting to pick up speed here!**

**Thanks for all the reviews! :) **


	4. More than they Planned

**Reprise**

_And for once it might be grand_  
_ To have someone understand_  
_ I want so much more than they've got planned._

_-"Belle" (Reprise)_

* * *

_Gregory marched in._

_"Oh, it's only you." Rumple let out a breath of relief and shut the doors behind Gregory. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I've come to collect Belle."_

"You've come to collect her?" Rumple asked slowly in disbelief.

Gregory did not move at all and stared straight at Rumple. "Yes."

"To take her back to the Evil Queen?" Rumple feared.

"Of course not. I intend to take her as my wife." His eyes were hard, but Rumple could see a shadow of fear behind them, fear that he was trying to fight off.

From this slight hint of panic, Rumple knew he had the advantage and played his own confidence even stronger. "Do you now?" He said, circling Gregory and looking him up and down. "And does Belle know of your plans?"

"No..." he faltered. "But she'll need a new life now that the Enchanted Forest isn't safe for her. She assured me that you aren't the horrible beast that you're known to be. You were kind enough to free her from the Evil Queen's prison and I ask you to release her out of captivity to you as well."

Rumple studied Gregory carefully. He seemed kind, honorable, and daring- just the type of man Belle deserved to marry. Rumple ignored all thoughts of how much he would miss her and how his life would seem empty and dull without her. He tried to think only of her safety. If this Gregory had the means to protect her from Regina, she would be free from danger and from the darkness in Rumple's life that had bled into hers. "Let's see what the girl thinks of this match." He called to her, "Belle!"

She entered in a hurry and saw the two men. "Gregory!" She paced to stand by Rumple. "What are you doing here?"

Gregory dropped to his knees before her. He reached for her, "I've come to take your hand in marriage."

"Excuse me?" She yanked her hand away from his in shock.

Gregory stood and touched her face. "You've captured my heart and I wish to set you free from the debt you owe to Rumplestiltskin, and from fear of the Evil Queen. I will make a safe home for us in another land."

"In another land?" Belle attempted to inch towards Rumple.

"Yes, where are you going? And just how are you planning to get there?" Rumple asked. The boy was impressive with his language, certainly brighter than the oaf, Gaston, and his intentions were noble. Getting to other lands was nearly impossible though, especially for a commoner who couldn't practice magic.

"I'll take you to Oz, my lovely, and I've got a magic bean that will take us there."

Gregory leaned toward her, and Belle leaned away, terrified.

"How in the devil did you get possession of a magic bean?" Rumple asked condescendingly, and a bit out of jealousy. He had half a mind to steal it and whisk Belle away himself. "Let me see it," He demanded.

"No!" Gregory put his hand over the satchel that he was carrying.

"I won't let you have her until I see it," Rumple growled.

Belle clenched her fists at her sides, frustrated. "Do I have any say in what transpires today?"

Gregory cautiously took the bean out and held it in his hands as if he could break it by moving it too much. "See?"

Rumple saw that it was indeed a magic bean. That this ordinary guard would come across a magic bean was highly suspicious and letting Belle go with him was against Rumple's intuition. Nevertheless, rationally, it seemed like the best idea. He said, "You've proven yourself," and stepped back, conceding to Gregory.

"Splendid." Gregory slipped the bean back into the satchel and offered his arm to Belle. "Let's go, Belle."

"Absolutely not!" She pushed him away, distancing herself from him. "Have you been listening to a word that I've said?"

Gregory let his arm drop. "I see." He seemed defeated for a moment and then pressed on, "I will do everything I can...I know I can earn your love if you will come with me." He offered her his hand once more.

This time, she took it. "Gregory, you're very simple...and sweet. I'm sorry, but I've already given my heart to another."

Belle did not look at Rumplestiltskin, but Gregory did. "Someone less simple, less foolish?" He sneered. "You know, Belle, the dark and mysterious man may be exciting in your books, but in real life, he's only going to destroy you."

Rumple was again surprised with the boy and his wisdom, but then realized that Gregory had implied that he was going to destroy Belle. This conclusion wasn't entirely unreasonable, but Belle had already started prattling off in his defense. He interrupted her, "Belle, darling, you should go with him."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, I won't go."

Rumple approached her and she placed her hands on his chest, clinging to his jacket. He let his hands cup her elbows. "It's the best plan we've got."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "You told me that you would protect me from Regina if she came."

"I will, but it would be much safer for you in a different land. You wouldn't have to run and hide for the rest of your life. You don't have to marry him. Just go with him. Use the bean and find adventure in Oz." He tried to smile at her to give her hope.

Belle let her head drop to his chest by her hands.

Rumple could feel every breath she took. He let his hands wander to her waist and he felt her lungs expanding and contracting even more. The breaths were fast and deep- she was distressed. "It's your choice, Belle. You decide your fate."

She looked up at him. "You really want me to leave?" She let her hands trail up to his face, touching his temples and his cheeks. "I know I make you uncomfortable sometimes. It would be easier for you if I wasn't here and Regina couldn't use me as a bargaining chip." She thought for a moment. "I'd like to stay here, but if you _want_ me to leave, I will go with him." She let go of him and stepped back.

Gregory cleared his throat and nodded. "Make the right choice, Rumplestiltskin."

He looked at her and willed himself to do right. He thought about everything he told her. She would be better off. Adventures. Safe. Away from him. It would be better for him. His power would be intact. No more anxiety over her touches. No more smiles. No more kisses.

"I can't," He realized and said out loud. He cupped her face in his hands and noticed how the skin on his fingers contrasted with her pale skin. "I am such a selfish man."

"What?" Belle asked.

"What?!" Gregory leaned in.

Rumple screwed his eyes shut and told her, "Stay."

"Stay?" She asked unsure.

"Stay," he nodded.

She clung to him urgently, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his shoulder. "Yes! Thank you!"

Rumple smiled until he saw Gregory seething. "You'll regret this, Rumplestiltskin!" He shouted.

Rumple braced himself to turn Gregory into a gardenia, but restrained himself for Belle's sake.

Gregory took a few moments to watch Belle. He paced the room, took a few deep breaths, and seemed to cool down. "I'm sorry, I don't want to leave a bad impression." He straightened himself up and touched Belle's shoulder. "Belle, I respect your decision. If you ever need me, I will come to your rescue." He bowed.

"Thank you, Gregory." She broke out of Rumple's embrace and curtsied for him.

"Before you go..." Rumple started. He found that he had a sense of admiration for Gregory now that he was keeping his hands off of Belle and wanted to reward him in any way possible. He went over to his spinning wheel and grabbed a handful of golden yarn sticks. "Uh, here!" He tossed them at Gregory, who caught them. "Enough for a new house, I'm sure."

Gregory pocketed the gold humbly. "Thank you, Rumplestiltskin. I wish you the best of luck in facing the Queen. She will surely come after you tomorrow."

Gregory left the castle and Rumple's stomach churned at the thought of Regina coming. He just wanted some peace. He was finally beginning to be able to enjoy Belle and he didn't want an epic battle interrupting them.

Belle took his mind off of things by lacing her hands together at the back of his neck. "Thank you again, Rumple."

Their faces were close together and he felt a familiar anticipation in the way his body tensed. "Are you going to kiss me?"

She thought for a moment, "No." She let go of him and winked. "I need to keep you guessing!"

* * *

They had dinner together and then curled up on the couch and Belle read to him. When it was time for bed, Rumplestiltskin walked her to her doorway again.

She beat him to his own question. "Are you going to kiss me?"

He stood rigid in shock. "I- I don't know." He recovered quickly this time. "I guess I'm more of an 'in the moment' type of guy."

"Well, is this the moment?" She rocked her body towards him flirtatiously.

He felt her lips drawing him, but it wasn't as urgent as before and he didn't know what to do with the feeling. He needed adrenaline...or magic to give him the courage to kiss her and he didn't have anything but a belly of butterflies. He looked down, "Belle, I don't-"

"Rumple." She interrupted, letting her hands graze his chest, stroke up his neck, and grab a hold of his chin. "This is the moment." She decided for him and kissed him, letting him suck on her bottom lip. He felt her flush and her warmth spread through him and it felt too good- better than he'd felt in three hundred years.

She broke the kiss and he wanted more. He allowed himself to forget that he was a monster, not a man, and pressed her into the door frame, begging her to open her mouth with his lips. She did and he tasted her and it was heaven to him. His tongue moved over hers, dipping and twisting. The grip of her hand on his arm varied with the kiss. She grasped and stroked down his arm until she could clutch his hand. Finally, he tugged at her lips again trying to pull every bit out of her that he could so he could have her curled around himself forever.

He didn't know what to do when their lips parted so he nodded, "Good night."

"Wait a minute, Rumple." She didn't let go of his hand. He watched her catch her breath and smiled to himself. "Look," she said, holding out their hands to him.

Two flesh-colored, human hands were laced together. He immediately felt very disjointed from his hand, like it belonged to someone else. The new color and texture of his skin continued up his forearm and stopped at his elbow. "What about my face?" He felt his face.

"Still handsome," she joked, touching it as well. "It seems like your hands are the only thing that have changed. You know what this means? It has to be true love's kiss. You love me, Rumple," she laughed.

"I suppose I do." He didn't want to give away too much to her, still afraid. "The magic knows better than I do."

He looked down at his hands again. They were not his. The fingernails were short and pinkish. He brushed his hands against each other. It felt like normal skin. Could he still do magic out of them? He attempted to conjure a rose. It fell into his hand. He felt a rush of relief and handed the rose to Belle.

"You can still do magic." She took his hands again. "But the curse is breaking." She paused as he continued to stare at their hands together. "Are you upset?"

"Yes, but..." he squeezed her hand, showing her, "I am becoming a man once again! For you!"

"Rumple, you should know by now that I don't care what you look like. Beauty is found within," she said to reassure him, "You're happy now. But tomorrow, in the morning," she sighed, "I know you're going to be mad again and worried that you might lose your power."

That did sound like him, but now he was running too high off of her kisses to care. "Let's save tomorrow's problems for tomorrow," He said. "We must go to bed and rest up for Regina."

"I don't want you to go."

He knew what she was implying. He didn't think she wanted to make love, but even sleeping in the same bed would provide too much temptation for him. "I wouldn't dream of tainting your virtue in that way."

"You slept in here last night."

He pointed a finger at her. "That was a special case. Now, off to bed." He shooed her away.

"Please, Rumple." She was giving him her best helpless eyes and he almost fell for it. He searched for any excuse to stay with her, but his newfound moral fortitude wouldn't let him.

"Belle, darling," he cupped her face in his hands. "Who knew you could be such a temptress?" He giggled so she would know that he was only kidding. "I must respect you and your bed," he said seriously. He left her quickly before she could pull him back.

He didn't escape without hearing her retort. "Who knew you were such a saint, Rumple?" The sound of her laugh put him to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: They are SO fun to write! I hope they are fun to read too!**

**I tried to make Gregory a little less predictable, but still sort of a Charming-esque guy. **

**Probably two more chapters left! I need to do a little research about the first curse before I write it. There might be a sequel in the works, but I have to warn you, I am very good at not finishing sequels, haha.**

**Thank you SO much for all the reviews! **


	5. The Beast within the Man

**Reprise**

* * *

_Prince: Belle, don't you recognize_  
_ The beast within the man_  
_ Who's here before you?_

_Belle/Prince:_  
_ Two lives have begun now_  
_ Two hearts become one now_  
_ One passion, one dream_  
_ One thing forever true_

_-Home (Reprise)_

Belle awoke to the castle shaking and sighed. She knew she'd correctly predicted how Rumple would react to the effect his kisses had on his curse. She rose out of bed, not even bothering to change out of her nightclothes. She felt like the whole castle was being torn off its foundation. Rumple was nowhere to be seen on the ground floor so she headed to the dungeon. She found him in one of the large, open rooms, throwing fireballs at the stone wall.

She didn't want to get hit so she didn't say anything to him or make her presence known. All of a sudden, her scent seemed to hit him and he stopped. He looked towards the doorway. "Belle." He looked away. "Not a good time."

She nearly fell backwards in shock. His voice had dropped at least an octave in pitch. "Rumple? What happened...?"

He laughed, a deep chuckle rather than a giggle. "This is what my voice sounded like, when I was a man. It seems as if the curse is breaking further."

She was surprised at how self-contained he was. She could see the anger rumbling underneath him. He didn't snarl or bite at her though so she wasn't afraid. She approached him. "You're going to destroy the castle."

He looked at her once more and then did a double take. The gown she was wearing was sheer and she was making no move to hide from him. "You're distracting me," he said and continued with the flaming target practice.

She smiled and tried to hide her laugh. She didn't know what possessed her to flirt with him so brazenly. Maybe it was because there was no one else around to condemn her behavior or maybe she was overcome with excitement and falling in love. Either way, she didn't intend to take advantage of his care for her virtue any longer.

Or at least she intended to do her best. His searing kisses had played through her mind all night and he was becoming impossible to resist. And she wanted him to want her too, so she was disappointed that he was ignoring her. She had faith that this was just a moment of frustration for him. Maybe by lunch he'd be ready for more kisses.

"Don't be too long. We have precious time before Regina gets here," she reminded him. "Maybe you should go outside," she suggested. "Less damage to the structure." She turned around before he could respond and headed upstairs. She bathed and changed her clothes and decided to make them some breakfast.

She noticed that the castle had stopped shaking and she looked outside. She was pleased to see that he had taken her advice and was slicing down trees with a wave of his finger. He moved onto zapping doves and then tearing up the ground with bursts of magic out of his hands.

She looked away and began working on breakfast.

After about a half hour, he returned and entered the dining room where she was enjoying her food. He was out of breath and seemed to be sweating. "I feel much better," he announced.

"That's a relief." She took another bite of her breakfast.

"Make me breakfast, love?" He asked her.

She hesitated in shock and tried to hide how overjoyed she was. He'd never called her that before- as if love had been something easy for them to realize or admit. She tried to answer quickly as if she had barely noticed the new pet name, although she was sure he would see the blush on her cheeks. "Umm...I'm keeping it warm on the stove. I'll go get it." She stood.

"I'll go freshen up," He sounded much more chipper than he had before. "What're we having?"

"Porridge with peaches," she said.

"And bacon." He snapped his fingers and pointed at the table and a plate of bacon appeared.

Belle frowned, "You killed the pig when you were outside just now, didn't you?"

"She may have had an accident with a quickly moving block of wood," Rumple explained, dashing out before Belle could scold him further.

Belle laughed and went to get the rest of Rumple's breakfast. She expected it would take him only a few seconds because he usually cleaned up with magic. But when she got back to the table, it took another fifteen minutes for him to get back. His hair was wet.

"Did you bathe?" She asked.

"Only for you," he smiled, jokingly.

She decided his good mood was incredibly strange. "Don't you usually use magic?"

"Sometimes, it's nice to do human things." Before he sat down, he leaned over her chair. "Good morning."

She wrinkled her brow, confused. She spoke slowly- "Good mor-"

He swallowed her greeting in a kiss. Not quite to the intimate level they reached last night, the kiss was still deep and tender. When he pulled away, she wanted him back so much. The texture of his face changed a little and she could see a hint of a man, but then it changed back.

He ignored it, sat down and began to eat, obviously eager to get on with his day.

"It seems like your powers are still intact," she observed.

"Yes, they are," he agreed, flexing his hands and wrists.

She decided to ask him the hard question that they'd both been wondering since last night. "Do you think that...if you keep kissing me, the curse will break completely and you will lose all your power?"

"Could be," he said, not seemingly concerned. "For having this curse for over 300 years, I know surprisingly little about it and how to break it. I have an inkling that if I didn't lose my powers from kissing you in the first place, though, they might be with me forever."

"That could be good," she said, surprised that he was not more concerned. She decided not to press further into it. Touching the table, she said, "This place is getting dusty. Would you like me to clean it before Regina gets here?"

Rumple thought for a moment and then replied, "No, I'd rather her assume that we were too busy doing other things to get around to the cleaning." He smirked.

"Rumple!" She blushed. "What has gotten into you?"

"You reminded me of the precious time we have left." He slurped down the rest of his oatmeal and grabbed her hand to lead her to the living room. He settled down on the couch and this time she snuggled into him easily. She knew he probably wanted more kisses, but she just laid her head on his chest. "Do you feel ready for Regina?"

"I am more powerful than her. She won't hurt you, Belle."

Belle sat up and looked at him. "But will she hurt you? I won't be apart from you."

"I know." Rumple drew her back down to his chest. "Trust me. I have many things that Regina desires. I'm sure I can trade one of them for peace between us. Depending on the mood she's in, she might not even be violent."

Though he was trying, Rumple's words did not comfort Belle. "I'm afraid she'll be running after us our whole life."

"I have a plan, darling. Just trust me." His hand found her hair and he began to run his fingers through it.

She felt her head being pulled back and she looked up at him. She watched as his lips slowly lowered to hers and brushed against her. Tenderly, he began to kiss her and moved her so that she could lie down on the couch with Rumple hovering over her. He kissed her, softly again, one of his hands gripping her waist and the other brushing over her belly.

Belle had never been kissed like this before and it felt safe, yet exciting. She felt comfortable, yet like she needed to get somewhere, get more of Rumple. "More," she said.

He dipped his head, pressed his lips a little harder until she opened her mouth for him. She felt the skin under the hand cupping his cheek and she opened her eyes. His skin was changing again. She thought it might be more permanent this time, but she saw that it went back to grey-green quickly. She wondered if the rest of his body was so stubborn to change as well. She ripped into the buttons of the shirt that he was wearing and she saw pale skin.

She broke the kiss. "Rumple! Look!" She brushed her hand over his new chest and felt hair and some lean muscle underneath.

"I see." He couldn't be bothered with himself and went right back to kissing her open-mouthed.

She placed her hand firmly on his chest, wanting to physically feel the way she changed him. Then, she ran her fingers over his cheek and broke the kiss. "Why doesn't your face change?"

He held himself over her, catching his breath. "I'm sure it has something to do with my mind and the hold that the darkness has over it. It will take even stronger magic to finish the curse off."

"Stronger than True Love's Kiss?"

He ducked his head and placed a kiss on the hollow of her neck and then one on her collarbone. "I suspect we would have to consummate our relationship to finish it."

"Oh."

"I'm in no hurry, Belle."

She nodded, "Okay."

"We would have to be married..."

"Yes, married," she said, thoughtfully. Truthfully, she hadn't expected him to be at this point so soon, of wanting to marry her. She hadn't put much thought into the logistics- how it would happen, if her father would be there, what she wanted her wedding to be like.

He seemed disappointed. "Are you repelled at the idea of being married to me?"

"No!" She recovered. "I know I love you and that you love me. I just didn't think that you would be open to it this soon."

"Me neither," he replied and they both laughed. "The Queen may be coming to fight me today, but now I'm thinking she had other good reasons to lock you up."

"And what would those be?" Belle said, bewildered.

He let his hand frame her face and his thumb rubbed her cheek. "You've tamed the most powerful man in the land. And that makes you the most powerful woman."

She smiled and touched his hair, saying, "Oh, I think I like that." She coaxed him back down to kiss her.

Just then the doors were thrown open.

"Perfect timing," Rumple muttered.

They heard the echo of Regina's shoes across the floor and then it stopped abruptly when she saw them.

Belle heard the slightest gasp before Regina could cover up her first reaction. A moment later, she heard, "How revolting!"

Rumple was thrown off of her and she sat up to look at Regina.

Regina grinned, "And there's my little prisoner." She stepped forward and allowed Belle and Rumple to see Gregory behind her, his hand at his sword.

"You should have used the magic bean."

* * *

**A/N: Okay...two more chapters.**

**I was going to have the whole Regina scene in here but Belle and Rumple had too much to say before that! I'm kind of excited about what this might lead into. **

**Next time- Regina!**

**Thanks so much for reviewing!**


	6. I Get What I Want in the End

**Reprise**

_Yes, I'm endlessly, wildly resourceful_  
_ As down to the depths you descend_  
_ I won't even be mildly remorseful_  
_ Just as long as I get what I want in the end_

_- "Gaston" (Reprise)_

_Belle heard the slightest gasp before Regina could cover up her first reaction. A moment later, she heard, "How revolting!"_

_Rumple was thrown off of her and she sat up to look at Regina._

_Regina grinned, "And there's my little prisoner." She stepped forward and allowed Belle and Rumple to see Gregory behind her, his hand at his sword._

_"You should have used the magic bean."_

Rumple jumped up and grabbed Belle's hand, holding her behind him. He was disappointed that Gregory had turned to the Queen's side. "You are wasting your time, Regina. You will not be taking Belle again."

Regina gazed at Rumple's hands. "Rumple, what happened to you?" She sneered, "True love's kiss? Enjoy the last bit of magic you have."

Rumple sliced his hand through the air, putting a wall of fire between him and Belle, and Regina and Gregory. Regina blocked it and put it out with a wall of ice. "Powers still intact. Interesting," she commented. "Not for long, I'm sure."

Rumple wanted to show her all that he could do- that he was just as powerful as he was when his skin was darker and his voice was higher, but he restrained himself. He knew she was playing with his mind so he resolved not to believe anything she said. "You have no idea how much I want to rip the skin from your body with my bare hands." He heard Belle gasp in horror and reminded himself to censor what he was saying. "But I won't," he added for Belle's sake. "You deserve the worst torture. You locked up my love and starved her and fed her to snakes. I should kill you, but I propose a truce."

"You have changed," she said, seeming to mock him. She looked at Belle. "Is that how you got out? True love? Oh darling girl, you have no idea what kind of spell he has you under."

"I'm not under any spell," Belle retorted. "I love him for the man he is."

"He's a beast!' Regina turned toward Rumple. "But I am not unfriendly. I can be cordial." She stepped daintily towards them. "I did not throw her in prison just for the sake of being evil," Regina smiled, "She practically fell into my lap when you _threw_ her away, Rumple. I figured she was distracting you from working on our curse. And I was right," She laughed deeply. "I merely came to check up on things, to see if you needed any distractions removed."

"You just want the curse?" Rumple inquired.

"What curse?" Belle squeezed his hand from behind him.

"The Dark Curse," Regina elaborated. "Hand it over and the maid will be yours."

"Rumple, I don't like the sound of it." Belle said warily.

Rumple stared at Regina. The curse was finished, but now he had something to live for back in the Enchanted Forest. If he gave Regina the curse, all memories of Belle and him would be destroyed. Still, his first and primary goal was to rescue Baelfire.

"I don't think I'm making the choice clear enough," Regina interrupted his thoughts. "Give me the curse or I will kill her now. Gregory!" She snapped her fingers at him and he brought her a bow and a sling of arrows.

Belle rushed toward him. "Rumple, no! You can't give her this curse if it means others will be hurt."

Regina took an arrow and blew a breath at the head of it, which caused it to light on fire. She drew back the arrow in the bow. "Curse. Now, Rumple." She waited for an answer.

"Let- let me just talk to Belle for a second." Belle would surely understand if she knew that the curse would bring him to Baelfire.

"Wrong answer." Regina let go of the arrow. Rumple made it fly slightly to the left of Belle. It pinned her dress to the wall behind them and the fire spread through it. Belle was able to rip away her dress from the burning arrow and patted her hands with it to put the fire out.

Regina withdrew another arrow. "I'll give you another chance, Rumple. This time I won't miss."

"No," He refused. He jumped over to Belle and made a shield of magic before them, which took a lot of energy and both of his hands.

Belle stepped behind him and threw her arms around his neck. "You can't. You can't give her something that will kill thousands of people."

"It won't kill them, Belle," He winced from the exertion, "We'll only lose our memory. It's the only way for me to to get to Baelfire."

She paused for what seemed like several minutes to him and pressed her whole body against his. Then she said, "Do what you think is best. I trust you."

They heard a rumble and Rumple looked up and saw a cloud over their heads. "Watch out!" He warned Belle and pushed her away, leaving them unshielded. He had acted just in time. Regina had sent a lightening bolt crashing and it struck right where Belle had been standing.

"I'll give you the curse!" Rumple yelled over the thunder of Regina's storm. He held out his hand and the parchment appeared. "Here!"

"Thanks." Regina pocketed the curse and opened her other hand to a flat palm. The storm snapped back into her hand and she curled her fingers around it, as if she was holding it in a ball. "All this power and nowhere to go," she said as the electricity crackled over her fingertips.

"You have the curse," Gregory said, behind her. "Let's go."

"Regina, we have a deal," Rumple reminded her, steadying himself to run towards Belle. He had a choice- he could try and provoke her to attack him, or he could stand in front of Belle and trust that Regina wouldn't hit or or that the shock wouldn't transfer. He would simply absorb the magic because he was immortal, but it would kill Belle. He stood, frozen and unsure of what to do.

He noticed that Gregory had his eyes trained on Belle and he was inching towards her. He didn't know if Gregory was trying to attack her himself or guard her. Rumple watched Gregory's eyes until he caught them. In a moment, Rumple understood that he had come out of kindness, to protect Belle. Gregory nodded for Rumple to move away and then he nodded and moved slightly more towards Belle.

Regina, in the mean time, was also staring at Belle. Electricity wound around her fingers and it would spark whenever two fingertips touched. "I believe the deal was that I would not kill her. If I left her brain dead, that wouldn't be quite the same thing, would it, Rumple? You should know. You're used to making deals with caveats and hidden agendas."

"What do you want?" He growled, trying to put her attention on him.

"Justice. Equality. Very simple, good things," Regina said, "You'll see. Villains like us, we're not meant to be loved in this world." She turned back to Belle.

"You don't have to do this, Regina," Belle pleaded.

Rumple wanted to throw all the magic at his disposal towards Regina, but he knew that would only release her power at Belle. He watched as Regina sneered, "Yes, I do. I have to because _he-" _she gestured towards Rumple, "-made me this way. Dark. Evil."

"Don't worry," she said to Rumple, "you won't even remember this in a few hours."

"No," he begged her, hoarse as he felt his throat tighten up.

"I hope you'll forever regret the day you met me and made me my mother's pawn," she spat at him. With that, she opened her palm again and released the energy.

Rumple covered his eyes, knowing that the lightening had most likely struck Belle instantly. He heard a thud on the ground and a clatter, and then Belle's soft voice, "Gregory!"

He opened his eyes to Regina's groan. Gregory had collapsed halfway between Belle and Regina, his sword thrust out. Belle seemed to have fallen down from the shock and was crawling towards him.

"Looks like he really did love you," Regina pretended to be sad. "Don't worry. I've got a little bit left for you, dear." She flicked her finger and a spark flew out towards Belle.

It was quicker than Rumple had time to move, but he didn't have to do anything. The electricity bounced off of Belle's forehead.

Regina tried again and the same thing happened. "What?!" She roared and threw an orb of magic at Belle.

This time, the magic hit her and evaporated into glitter around her.

Belle seemed confused, as Rumplestiltskin was. But he knew one thing for certain, "You can't kill her." He smiled. "Oh, Regina," he said in a singsong voice. He held up a ball of electricity identical to the one that Regina had held.

Her eyes widened in worry and she disappeared in purple smoke.

Finally. Rumple collapsed to the ground. Belle had Gregory's head in her lap and was crying over him.

It took all of Rumple's energy to crawl over and sit by her. "He died for you."

She nodded and wiped away tears from her cheeks. "His sword. It absorbed all the energy and it went straight into his body."

"Then I owe him everything."

"We do," Belle agreed. "He deserves an honorable burial."

Rumple waved his hand and Gregory's body was swept away in magic. "I'll send him to his family. With heaps of gold and a letter explaining. Perhaps they could live their last day with indulgence and material comforts for their loss."

"I never told you this-" Belle looked at the ground where Gregory had died. "But at one point, Gregory was to be my brother-in-law."

"He was that Gastric's brother?"

"Gaston." Belle correctly, laughing a little.

"Oh. Poor family, with two of the males gone." Rumple thought guiltily about the rose that was still in place in his den. The rose that wouldn't die for years. He almost thought about changing him back, but supposed that it would be more trouble than it was worth. "I have to say that I would prefer Gregory over that Gaston."

"I'm sure you'd prefer him to Gideon as well."

"There's another?"

"Yes, and he's certainly the worst one. He's not quite my age, but he's horribly spoiled and he has filthy language and..." Belle trailed off. "I'm sorry. I should let you form your own opinion of him."

"I hope I don't ever have to." By the sound of it, this boy was likely to face a similar fate as his brothers. "I suppose he can't be any worse than facing Regina," he smiled.

"Do you really think she will cast that curse? What will happen?"

He drew her near to him, his hand stroking the side of her body. "It'll take us to the land where Bae is. The land with no happy endings. We will have no idea who we are. Well, I won't."

"You won't know me?"

"I might know you. But I won't know you as Belle. You'll be someone else. I'll be someone else, and I'm sure our 'best friend' Regina will make us into toads or something of the like."

Belle curled into Rumple. "No, we can't let that happen."

"It's okay. I can see the future, a little bit of it. The child of Snow White and Prince Charming will save us. Her name is Emma." He held her more tightly and looked into her eyes. "It's very important that you remember that name, Belle."

"Why?" She whispered.

"Whenever a sacrifice is made," he began, "something magical happens. You sacrificed yourself and I was able to save your entire kingdom in the Ogre Wars. In the same way, Gregory has sacrificed his own life for you." Rumple paused, knowing that it should have been him who made the sacrifice for his love. He shook off the shame momentarily. "That has done something powerful in you and it seems that Regina can't do anything to physically harm you now."

Belle's eyes sparkled for a moment and then deadened again. "I know I should be thrilled, but it came as such a great price."

"His life, I suspect, will be paid back in the hundreds," He continued to explain, "Because of him, it's likely you will have your memory in the new realm and you can find Emma to rescue us."

"Me?" Belle arched her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yes, love." He pushed her hair back behind her ear and kissed her. "I have so much confidence in you. Time will be frozen for 28 years though, and I have no idea what that entails for you and me."

"We don't have very long before Regina casts the curse," Belle realized, "We don't have much time before you don't know who I am." Her mouth fell open in despair.

"That's right." He held her face to comfort her while he kissed her.

She clung to his shoulders, trying to hold onto the short time of peace and happiness that they had before Regina's curse took over.

* * *

**A/N: Whoa. I did not think I would finish this tonight. But I did!**

**This chapter was really challenging. If the fight scene was actually on tv, multiple things would be happening at the same time, but that's difficult to convey while I write without seeming scattered.**

**One plot hole that I did find was the magic bean! I know that most people don't care about this so I didn't write it. But, in case it bothers you too, you can add an additional scene where Belle and Rumple find the magic bean on Gregory. They find out that it was a fake that Regina had given to him.**

**Also, I'm sure at the beginning that you thought the lyrics were going to talk about Gregory in this chapter, but I think they fit Regina a lot better. ;)**

**One more chapter! Before the curse hits and we get a new story. I know I'm setting up myself a little for the sequel with that Gideon bit in there. :)**

**Thanks for the reviews! It really helps to know when people like what I write! **


	7. How You've Changed Me

**Reprise**

_This is all that I need_  
_ And all that I need to say is..._  
_ Don't you know how you've changed me_  
_ Strange how I fin'lly see_  
_ I found home_  
_ You're my home_  
_ Stay with me_

_-"Home" (Reprise)_

* * *

Rumple invited Belle into the cozy library of the Dark Castle. He'd spread out a black bear rug before the great fireplace and she daintily slid down to lounge on it, facing him.

He held her hand in between them for a while before turning and lying on his back.

"You're exhausted," she remarked.

"Yes, it seems that using power takes a lot more energy." He felt a touch impaired by this, but overall, he didn't really mind. He was grateful that he still had power.

She rolled to lay flat on her back, mirroring him.

After a while, he felt her tense, her fingers curled around his more tightly, and her breath became slightly more erratic. He turned his head to look at her. She was troubled, but trying not to appear that way. "What's wrong, Belle?" He rolled on his side to get a closer look.

"I- I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I keep replaying today over in my head, wondering if there was a way to save Gregory. I wonder if there was a way that I could have died instead. It's silly, I know- I can't change the past."

"I understand." He buried his face in her shoulder. "I'm just so glad he saved you." He lifted his head to look at her. "Don't forget that he chose to save you. You gave him a chance to be a hero."

"You're right," she gave him a weak smile. "I don't want to spend this time worrying about it. How long do you think it will take Regina to cast the curse?"

Rumple sighed, "Probably about a day." She needed the heart of the thing she loved the most, and that would even give someone as cold-hearted as Regina some hesitation. "It's powerful magic, but Regina is especially skilled."

"Just a day…" Belle thought, "Until you get to meet your son!" She remembered.

"I won't know who he is or where to find him, though," Rumple reminded her. "But, yes, at least we'll be in the same land."

"I'll help you, Rumple. Even if you don't remember, I will not stop looking for him," She promised earnestly.

"Thank you, Belle," He moved to hover over her, his fingernails scratching lightly over her temple, gliding down the side of her face. He lowered himself to kiss her, resting fully on top of her. She was so yielding to him. Her body graciously accepted every caress, every heated kiss until he felt a fire within him that was fed by her soft moans.

He felt like his kisses were searing and branding her. He moved down her chin, down to the intoxicating smell on her neck. He stayed there a while, planting as many open-mouthed kisses on her collarbone as possible. He wondered if he could leave a mark strong enough to last through the curse. His hands rose from her hips and slid up to her waist, just below her breasts. His mouth found its way to her cleavage and she groaned, loudly. He was so thankful for the corset, low-cut style dresses that left little to the imagination.

He looked up at her and was surprised to find her watching him. She gasped when their eyes met and he went back to biting and sucking at the fullness of her breasts. He'd never imagined that someone would love him and let him love her physically ever again. Who could ever want a beast to touch them? He was amazed.

"Beautiful…" He said between kisses, "lovely…Belle." He stretched the fabric of her dress as far as he could with his mouth and tongue, trying to kiss skin that he hadn't tasted yet. "I want to give you every pleasure in this world." His hands moved upward to hold the fabric away, but they got lost in the allure of her breasts. He held them, tested their weight and memorized how they felt in his hands. He squeezed them, hard, and she groaned again, "Rumple". Her hips bucked and he felt himself respond.

It was a warning to him. "Belle." He cupped her face with his hands. "I want to respect you."

She shot him a helpless, worried look, but then her face smoothed out. "You do."

He pulled himself off of her to lie beside her again. "I need you to know how important you are to me, how I desire you in every way, not just physically."

"Okay," she nodded. "Thank you." She turned on her side and held her mouth over his, then decided differently and kissed him on the cheek.

He took in the deep flush that he'd caused all over her body and the tense way she held herself together. "I'm sorry that I got carried away. That's not fair to you." He assumed that she had little experience with men in this way and therefore, little self-control. He'd had 300 years of celibacy to practice. "We can do anything you want on our last day. I will take you anywhere in the Enchanted Forest. We can eat anything, read any book, chase after any animal…What are you thinking?"

"That's a hard question," She began. She looked away nervously and then back at him. "The one thing that I want to do more than anything is the one thing I'm not supposed to ask for."

He thought for a minute about what she could mean. It dawned on him, "Do you want to get married?"

"Rumple," she bit her lip and touched his cheek, "I want to break the dark curse. Today."

* * *

"Where is it?" He asked out loud as he rustled through a drawer of valuables in his workshop. He'd hid it in a special place, one where he couldn't call for it at any time. "Oh!" He remembered and checked a secret compartment behind his set of scales. He picked out a diamond the size of a pea. Quickly, his pricked his finger with a knife and infused it into the diamond, tinting it red. He imagined in his head what he wanted the ring to look like, molding the diamond with magic to suit his needs. A rose, petals folding over each other appeared out of the diamond. He sprinkled on some fairy dust to give it a frosty look. He made two bands of gold from what he had spun and molded the new diamond into one of them.

He changed into a suit with a long jacket cinched at the waist. He hid from the mirror as long as possible, but knew that if he wanted to do anything to his hair, he needed to look. He inched into view of the frame and decided he didn't look awful. But he wanted Belle to know the man that she was going to marry, not the beast of his past. He cast a spell on himself so that he would appear completely in his human form to her. He slicked his hair back out of his face and headed downstairs to surprise her.

His heart beat quickly as he knocked on her door. "Belle, are you almost ready?"

"Yes, I found a dress. Just the hair now...ah, got it." He heard her feet pad towards the door and she opened it.

He couldn't believe how beautiful she was. She'd chosen a white dress, tight in the waist, but puffed out slightly in the skirt. The sleeves were lace and the pattern trailed down the whole dress. Her hair was up and pulled to the side so that the tendrils hung over her shoulder.

"Rumple!" She was even more shocked than he was, if it was possible. She reached out and touched his face. "Is it you?"

"Yes, this is what I will look like, for all the days that we are married." 'For the twelve hours at least,' he corrected in his head.

"Very handsome," she said, getting a closer look.

He noticed perfume on her wrist and a dark red rouge on her lips. He was completely enthralled by her beauty so that he couldn't process what she was saying.

"I'm so happy, Rumple..."

She didn't sound quite content so he waited for her to continue.

"...But I'd like to marry you how you truly are, right now. It might be the last time I see you in that way."

"As the beast?"

She touched his hair lightly, "As the man I fell in love with."

He would not disagree with her. If only she would be his forever, he would do whatever she desired. He waved his hand over his face and it changed back to the monster he saw in himself.

She squeezed his shoulders, "Much better!"

"Do you have everything you need?" He held onto her carefully.

"Yes!" She smiled, "I am anxious to get going."

Rumple felt for the rings in his pocket and thought about what he was going to do. "Belle, ideally, I would have asked for your hand from your father."

"Don't worry about a thing! Let's just get married!" She said, full of glee.

"No." He said, a bit harsher than he intended. "No," he said more softly. "I'd like to tell you something first." He lowered himself to his knees in front of her, took her hands and looked up, "Belle, you are my true love. You do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but, in humility, regard others above yourself. You look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others, and for this I will endlessly admire you for all of our days. If you would be my wife, I will cherish and love you for all eternity. You are far more than I deserve and you make me happier than I will ever be able to comprehend. Will you marry me?" He pulled out the ring and held it up to her.

"Of course, yes!" She let him put the ring on her finger and pulled him up to his feet to hug him. "Yes, yes..." He heard her repeat.

He wanted to hold her that way forever, but he was also itching to make their union official. He pulled away from her, "Well now, let's just get to the priest-"

"Wait, Rumple," she interrupted. "I want to say something as well."

Again, his heart fluttered and he couldn't bear the anticipation of what she would say. He feared that he wouldn't believe it and that she would find him unappreciative, but he found his reactions to be true and pleasing to her.

"You've given me the adventure I always wanted and the love I'd never thought I'd have. Know that I love every part of you...the good and the dark. You are real and imperfect and...layered, and I know under it all is the most beautiful soul I've ever seen. I never want to be without you for the rest of my life."

"And you will never have to," he told her. "Not even Regina's curse will keep us apart."

"Yes," she sighed and clung to him, her head resting on his jacket.

"To the priest..." he suggested. She nodded and they were enveloped in a cloud as he transported them to the church.

* * *

"Get away from here, Dark One! Son of the Devil!" The priest screeched at Rumplestiltskin.

"I'm not the son of the devil!" Rumple shielded himself from the holy water that was being flung at him. "I have a curse and the only way to break it is to marry!"

"This is sacred ground!" The priest started to shoo him away, holding up a Bible and a cross towards him.

"He's not evil!" Belle shouted, trying to convince him. "He's just a man. We're in love."

"And he has you captive in a spell of seduction!" More holy water, this time in Belle's direction. "Harlot! Witch!"

"Excuse me?" Anger in Belle's defense struck Rumple suddenly. He rose and with a flick of his finger, caused the basin of holy water to spill onto the ground. "Let's go, Belle."

Rumple turned out of the cathedral and Belle reluctantly followed him, "We have to go back! Change his mind!"

"There's no use." He sat down on a nearby rock. "He's frightened by me." He reached for her hands. "I'm sorry, Belle."

"There's no other way?" Her eyes teared up. "I want to marry you today."

"I'm afraid not. We could only get married through the church or through the state. And the state is...Regina."

"We could ask her. It doesn't hurt to try." She squeezed his hands. "She might have grace on us."

"Doubtful," Rumple looked down, defeated. "But we could go see her anyway. She has been summoning me for the past two hours, and I've been ignoring her." Belle gave him a scolding look as he whisked them away to the queen's castle. Even though Belle couldn't be hurt by the queen, he still tried to shield her from everything.

Regina had a fire roaring in a pit and she was watching the flames. "Finally! You're here! What took you so long?"

"Just decided to take our time," Rumple answered for them. "What do you need?"

"The curse didn't work. What sort of game are you playing with me?!" She grabbed Rumple by the throat.

Luckily, he wasn't frightened. "That curse was perfect," he rasped, "It's your mistake."

"I did everything right!" She let go of him and held out the parchment that the curse was on. "Hairs of the most evil creatures in the land. The heart of my most beloved steed..."

"I can tell you how to correct your mistake...for a price," He hissed. Belle clung to him at his side.

"Always a trade with you. Why can't you do something out of the kindness of your heart?" Regina quipped.

"It's not in my nature. Let's make a deal!" Rumplestiltskin already knew what he would ask of her. "I will tell you how to fix the curse. And you...will perform the ceremony to marry us," He gestured to Belle.

"Deal!" She agreed, all to quickly for Rumple, but he knew that she had her mind focused on the curse and her vengeance on Snow White. "You first."

He gritted his teeth. He did not want to be first, knowing that she had much betters odds of having her end of the bargain fulfilled than he did. He decided to trust her. "Fine. The steed is where you went wrong. You need the heart of the one you love most. A horse isn't good enough, dearie. Great reward comes out of great sacrifice." He was reminded of Belle and her sacrifice, and he knew Belle was thinking of Gregory.

"What, then, shall I give? I don't love anyone but myself."

"Now, now. I'm sure that's not true. You know what you need to do."

She looked away fitfully, crossing her arms. "I am willing to do whatever it takes."

"Good!" He clapped. "Now the marriage..."

She waved him off. "I didn't say I would do it today. I'm kind of in the middle of something..." She rolled her eyes.

Belle nearly collapsed in Rumple's arms. After getting her hopes up again, she was devastated at Regina's response. "No, Your Majesty, that's not fair. You said-"

"I'll do it!" Regina assured. "You'll simply be married in the new realm rather than here."

"What does one day even make a difference?" Rumple asked.

"Because I only owe you one matrimonial favor!" Angry that they were still distracting her, Regina made a large sweep with her hands and several rocks fell from the ceiling of the room. "Now, what will it be? Married for one day where you'll remember or married forever where you won't?"

"Belle," Rumple wanted to stop her from talking because he knew which she would choose. "We will be married in the new realm."

"But you won't remember-"

"You will," he silenced her with a finger to her lips. "I don't want you to be lonely. It's even possible we could be enemies in the new world if we aren't married and I can't bear to do that to you. This is the wiser decision."

Belle didn't say anything, but just pressed her face into his shoulder. He felt teardrops hit his shirt. "We will wait. Good luck, Regina."

* * *

Rumple took Belle back to the castle. "She will cast the spell soon. We don't have a lot of time." He paused, looked around. "We can spend the night in my room, if you'd like."

It didn't take very long for her to answer, "I'd like to."

Rumple took it upon himself to move them to his bed and into some more comfortable clothes. Belle lay beside him, resting on more pillows than she would ever need. She took a moment to adjust to her new surroundings and then leaned over him. She placed a hand on his chest and kissed him.

He knew what she was expecting, but he had some reservations, "Darling, I hate myself for doing this..."

She sighed, disappointed, "You want to wait?"

"I don't want to be interrupted." It was so important and they were already nervous and rushed and he didn't want her to spend the last moments before the curse unsatisfied. "I want to take my time with you."

"Okay." Her head dipped and her hair tickled his neck. "So what are you saying?"

"You decide. I made the decision about the marriage." The way she slid against him was distracting so he could barely think clearly. "You choose what we do in our last few moments."

"It's not our last moments." She seemed to think for a moment and then lifted herself up. "I believe in us. I need to hold onto the anticipation of finally being together with you, as we truly are." She tucked herself beside him. "I will wait for you. We will wait because this is not an ending, but a beginning."

"We are lucky that it is your memories that will remain intact. I do not have your faith." Her unfailing hope was beautiful. "We will be married soon," he reminded her.

"I am so looking forward to that. Do you think you will still find me enchanting in this new realm?"

"There is no doubt."

He felt the world tilt on its axis and his whole body shook for a second. "The curse has been cast. We don't have much time left." He let his head fall down to the pillow besides her. "I love you."

The purple haze fell over them after a while and their eyes never left each other, memorizing the beauty and flaws of their love.

* * *

**A/N: Done! Thanks so much for reading. This was exciting. **

**Look for the sequel, Remix in maybe about a week's time. It'll be about the new Storybrooke where Belle keeps her memories! :) **


	8. Remix

**The sequel, Remix is up, dearies! ;) **


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